10 Most Stressful Jobs in America

Soldiers belong in a special category. Military personnel don't have to worry about being laid off, and they usually have excellent benefits.

But that job security and those benefits come at a price. People in the military don't have the freedom to walk away from a job if they decide they don't like it. They're subject to changes in orders with little or no warning. They must worry about their rank and compete for promotions.

And when the troops are deployed, stress rises. Separation from their families can bring many problems. Reserve troops who leave their civilian jobs worry deployment will hurt their careers.

Put troops into combat zones and the stress level soars. In today's wars, neither the enemy nor the battlefront is clearly defined. The 2008 movie "The Hurt Locker" depicted the extreme stress felt by those who dispose of explosives -- and that's hardly the only nerve-wracking job that troops face. Everyone in a war-torn country knows he or she could drive over an improvised roadside bomb or come under fire at any time. No one is safe. Sleep may be scarce, and there's no real down time. It's no wonder that many soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen develop post-traumatic stress disorder.